The former is made by the duct fab shop on a 20 ga standard Pitts machine (FL-P20); the latter is made by bending a 90 degree Right Angle Flange on a Brake or by adding Right Angle Flange Rolls to the shop’s 20ga Pittsburgh machine and then rollforming the Flange. Taking these two parts —the Pittsburgh Lock and the Right Angle Flange—and connecting them is the next and final step.

Unless a duct fab shop has invested $30,000.00 in a floor mount vertical Pitts Seamcloser, the process of “folding” over the straight flange part of the Pittsburgh Lock over the Right Angle Flange is done by hand held Air Hammers. These Air Hammers are made specifically for folding over the Lock and the cost is usually pretty low- a few hundred dollars. That’s the upfront cost. The real cost is substantially more: Noise Induced Hearing Loss. At an ear piercing 120 + decibels, the impact to the operator is the equivalent of standing 100 ft away from a commercial Jet airplane.

Over the decades there have been some models of Electric Pitts Hand Held Hammers introduced but the technology made for a heavy, slow and difficult to use Tool.

That changed several years ago when the German based machinery manufacturer Trumpf, known more for Lasers, introduced their Model F301 Electric Pittsburgh Seamcloser.  This investment pays off both in the quality of work environment and better looking seamed Pittsburgh lock running down the longitudinal seam of the Duct.

Standard with Loop to use as counterweight